Archives



Department for Child Protection and Family Support, State of Western Australia

The Department for Child Protection and Family Support (DCPFS) was created on 17 May 2013 as a new name for the Department for Child Protection. It is the lead agency responsible for the care and protection of children in Western Australia. On 1 July 2017, the Department for Child Protection and Family Support became part…

Global Mission Partners

Global Mission Partners (GMP) is an agency of the Australian Churches of Christ. In 2012, GMP merged with the Australian Churches of Christ Indigenous Ministries (ACCIM). ACCIM held photographs for children who had been in mission centres run by the Churches of Christ Federal Aborigines Mission Board Inc in Western Australia. These photographs are now…

St Gerard’s Hospital

St Gerard’s Hospital was a maternity hospital for unmarried women run by the Sisters of Mercy. St Gerard’s opened in 1944 and closed in 1971 or 1972. The building that was St Gerard’s was refurbished as a group home called ‘Davis House’, which was part of the Catherine McAuley Family Centre. The Foundation Stone for…

Western Australian Foundation for Deaf Children, records, State Library of Western Australia

‘Western Australian Foundation for Deaf Children, records’ is a collection of records from the West Australian Deaf and Dumb Institution, the West Australian School for the Deaf and Dumb and the WA School for Deaf Children. These are held in the Battye Library’s Private Archives Collection. The collection includes personal files relating to children, including…

Union Street Hostel

The Union Street Hostel was established by the Slow Learning Children’s Group in 1959 in Subiaco. It was used for short-term accommodation for young women with special needs. In 1960 the property was set up as a ‘training centre’ and in 1961 became the Phoebe Holmes Hostel.

Ministering Children’s League, Western Australian Branch

The Ministering Children’s League was a British organisation founded in 1884, with branches operating globally and across Australia. The League conducted charitable work, such as supporting, fundraising for, and running various institutions such as hospitals, respite/convalescent homes, and children’s homes. The League was non-sectarian and included adult and child members. It operated with the objective…

Ministering Children’s League Convalescent Home

The Ministering Children’s League Convalescent Home was established at Cottesloe Beach in 1897 for adults. A few children were admitted as paying inpatients during the early years of the Home, but thereafter were only admitted to the Convalescent Home during 1943, when 50 children from rural WA came to stay as part of a Country…

The Grove Library

The Grove Library is a key repository for photographs and historical information about Children’s Homes and other institutions that were located in the Perth suburbs of Cottesloe, Mosman Park, Peppermint Grove and Buckland Hill. ‘The Grove’ also has a growing online image collection and a community history section. The Grove’s Community History Library welcomes donations…

Mental Health Act Amendment Act 1976, Western Australia

The Mental Health Act Amendment Act 1976 (032 of 1976) created the ability for the government to license, fund and regulate ‘private psychiatric hostels’, ‘approved private hostels’, ‘day activity centres’ and ‘sheltered workshops’. The amendments imposed stricter conditions on voluntary organisations but also stimulated the growth of hostels for people with intellectual disabilities. Private hostel…

Nulsen Haven Association (Inc)

Nulsen Haven Association (Inc) was established when the Mentally Incurable Children’s Association changed its name in 1986. It was a disability services organisation, providing services including accommodation, therapy, nursing, recreation, skill development programs, community participation, training and creative development.